The Patronus Charm
by AshElm15049
Summary: When Hermione disapparates from the Ministy of Magic, she doesn't expect to be separated from Harry and Ron and dropped in the middle of a lake in Scotland. Incapable of meeting up with them again, she sets off, anxiously aware that someone is following her, and it's just a matter of time before she runs into trouble. PS: not all characters appear when expected ;) T for language.
1. Chapter 1

She was running. Running for her life. Again. Curse that stupid polyjuice potion for lasting such a short amount of time. She ran into a confused man, pushed him out of the way and bolted towards the many chimneys that boarded what seemed like an underground motorway. Behind her she could hear Ron and Harry struggling to get free of the crowd, and a load of newspapers flew into the men that were running after them. _Clever hex Harry_, she thought before diving sideways as a green flash of light crashed into the wall next to her. She fell onto the floor with a thud and watched as another green curse flew straight towards her face. But the boys had her back. Harry blocked the spell as he ran past and she got up just to see Ron send the evil bastards' wand flying. She bolted again, and saw Harry throw himself into a chimney before he disapparated. If separated, meet up at 12 Grimmald Place. That was the plan. But plans sometimes go terribly wrong.

Ron was ahead of her. He glanced back at her as he jumped into a chimney and disapparated, a look of worry on his face. She dived in behind him and pictured Sirius's old house before disapparating.

And that's when she felt it. A hand, clutching her wrist. For a split second she hoped it was Ron, but her ginger friend had disapparated before her, and the grip was too painful to be his. Five nails edged themselves into her skin, and suddenly she knew who it was.

A Death Eater had followed her.

She instantly twisted her thoughts away from Grimmald Place and concentrated on a forest she'd been to when she was a child. They soared through space as she suddenly changed her destination and she heard a scream as they appeared a hundred feet away from where she had planned to apparate. Oh she'd made a big mistake all right, they were a hundred feet above the ground.

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck. _

Gravity took over and they both plummeted towards the trees, Death Eater first, drawn down at incredible speed by his weight. Hermione got a grip on her wand and tried to concentrate as she realized that he had lost a leg in the process and that blood was flying towards her face.

That's when she disapparated, doing her best to twist herself in mid-air. The forest disappeared, and instantly, she knew something was wrong. She hadn't concentrated enough. Nowhere even near. The searing pain overwhelmed her just as she apparated a few feet above water and crashed into it's surface with the strength of a hurricane.

She didn't even feel herself drown, the world just went black.

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**Hi ... anyone that might read this. So this is my first Harry Potter fanfic but I've pretty much grown up reading the books and waiting for the films and it's pretty much my whole childhood! So here goes, just one thing: Things aren't always what they seem to be... ;)**

**PS: I'm going back to France tomorrow and the whole moving back might make my writing a bit slow, but I promise I'll do my best. God, I'M SO EXCITED! xx**


	2. Chapter 2

A tingle spread from his fingertips to his wrist before climbing up to the top of his arm. The sensation wasn't unusual, so he ignored it and kept on burning the pile of paper that was stacked up on the floor besides him. He was crouched near an old marble chimney and had brought his sleeves up to his elbows. He held his wand in front of him, levitating the burning ball of paper in mid-air and gave a little whip of his wrist so as to keep the cold magical fire going.

Suddenly the tingling feeling intensified and his whole right arm seemed to burst into flames from the inside.

_Shit!_

He got up and instantly disapparated. He'd concentrated on the feeling in his arm only, trusting the spell to bring him where he needed to go, so when he apparated, he had no idea where he was. But he didn't care. He disregarded the mountains around him and his eyes fell upon the lake in front of him. Strong ripples were still disturbing the water, causing it to splash over his feet. A worried look crept over his face and he whipped out his wand.

_"Homenium Revelio"_ he said in a cold voice.

The waters rippled and suddenly, he knew where she was. With a groan he pulled off his black robes and dived straight into the freezing water. Every inch of his body screamed in protest as he opened his eyes and forced his way deeper. His muscles seemed to freeze and every movement was painful, but there she was. He could see her. Grab her. The water around them seemed to claw at them, but he quickly pointed his wand towards the surface and they instantly shot towards the sky. They pierced the surface just as he felt her twitch.

The wizard pulled her ashore and quickly ran his hand over her body, checking her vital signs. She wasn't breathing.

_"Anapneo" _He whispered calmly, although his heart was still beating at an insane rate after his short swim in the lake.

The girl suddenly took a huge breath of air and the wizard dove backwards before pulling his cloak back over his face. Luckily, she'd only had a natural reaction following the spell and remained in her limbo state for at least a little longer. The man growled at his own reaction, and then whispered a full body-binding spell to be on the safe side. A rare smirk appeared on his face. Yes, it was the middle of the war; a simple body-binding spell was definitely going to make him feel safer.

The smirk disappeared instantly as he looked at her, noticing the strange angle at which lay her right arm. Something had gone terribly wrong during her apparition. He slowly pulled her sleeve up to her shoulder and his stomach kicked. She'd splinched herself. Badly. The whole of her arm was warped as if her entire skin had just been pulled off in one go.

Resisting the urge to vomit, he got up, muttered several protection charms around her immobilized body and conjured a warm wind to dry off his clothes. He quickly checked that he looked impeccable and disapparated.

He apparated in the middle of a fight. The two Death Eaters suddenly turned to him as he appeared in his own office and turned their anger on him.

"Where were you?" hissed the first. "Are you a blood traitor? Is that it?"

"Calm down Muller" he hissed back. "What is the reason of you insulting me when you know full well that I am higher in ranks than you are?

The man quivered in fear when he recognized the threat, but the second did not:

"They've broken into the ministry" he said in a steady, menacing voice. "The Potter boy and his friends. They attacked Umbridge and stole a necklace from her. Nothing more but they slipped from our fingers again, which you can understand sets a few of us on nerves. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

Their superior looked at them as a snicker slowly crept over his face, and when he spoke, they both took a step back.

"Muller, Jugson," he said in a playful cold as ice voice, "we wouldn't want you to go making dangerous assumptions now, would we?"

They both took a second step back, as fear slowly crept into their eyes.

"After all, I'm sure the Dark Lord would… kindly oblige when you both ask him where I was instead of looking for those who _you_. let. escape. again. Now… why are you in my office?"

A second passed in silence, but Death Eaters are not people who linger on feelings of any kind.

"We need Veritaserum."

He arched an eyebrow in surprise.

"We don't have time to torture them." explained Jugson with a disappointed shrug.

Death Eaters were indeed men of few words. Their Potions specialist slowly walked past them towards his walk-in closet. The walls were completely occupied by shelves of potions, and unsurprisingly, nearly all of them were meant for making curses more effective on their victims; Voldemort did not carry the belief of needing to save his followers when they were injured, thus these were nearly all meant for torture.

He handed the small green vial to Jugson and watched them leave. When he was sure they'd gone, he went back into the potion's closet and rummaged through the vials. Soon, he had what he was looking for and disapparated again.

"Still sleeping Granger?" He said disappointedly when he reappeared next to the lake.

She didn't seemed to have moved at all, and remembering the doubts the two Death Eaters had had about him, he just wanted to get her out of the bare landscape and then go back to headquarters so that no one would doubt him anymore, although since that night on the Hogwarts' astronomy tower, none of them had dared to lift a finger against him. He looked up and scanned his surroundings.

They were in a U-shaped valley apparently devoid of any human life, but the landscape was too open; she'd be an easy target here. A few hundred meters from where she lay was a forest that climbed onto the mountains between which the lake had formed. That was the best option.

He looked at the girl he could at best call his patient before adjusting his robes and crouching back down. He pulled her over his shoulder and wedged her on his back before starting to walk quickly towards the cover of the trees. He hated being so vulnerable; if anyone spotted them here they'd be dead in a matter of seconds.

By the time they reached their refuge he'd changed his mind. Oh she wasn't a patient: she was a bloody burden. Nonetheless, when he found a patch of moss hidden between large and thick bushes, he put her down with the care you would have for a newborn.

That was where Hermione woke up. The last thing she'd seen was the freezing lake as she crashed into it, vaguely aware that she'd splinched herself in the process, and then nothing. Absolute silence. That's why when she regained consciousness and realized she couldn't move an inch of her body, she instantly thought that she's been paralyzed in her fall. But it didn't make sense; she should be drowning right now! And there was this strange tingling feeling in her seemingly mangled arm, backed up by a slow, warm, stronger feeling.

_Wait, wait, wait!_ Complained her brain, struggling to understand the situation. _Is someone massaging my arm with a healing potion? WHO. THE. HELL?!_

Who in the world knew where she was? Or was she miraculously back at Grimmald Place? No, that couldn't be right. She could hear birds whistling in the distance. The Burrow then? No no, since the attack at Fleur and Bill's wedding the Weasley home was no longer considered safe. Then where was she, and more importantly… who was with her?

_Merlin's armpits, I can't open my eyes! Who the hell is this?! Show yourself! _

The massaging didn't stop and Hermione growled interiorly. It was no use screaming at someone without being able to utter a single sound, so she waited impatiently for the stupid _yet helpful_ person to stop. Oh he was stupid all right, because once she woke up he was going to get the beating of a lifetime. All she could tell by the deadly silence surrounding the _was he her rescuer or some kind of kidnapper? But then again, who heals his victim before abducting them? A sex slave maybe? _Oh pull it together_, she snapped at herself, _there aren't any sex slaves in this world anymore! If anything he or she's got to have just saved you_ _ all she could tell about him was that it was definitely a 'he'. Although the person's fingers were long, agile and very gentle, they were callous and a bit rough, and the palms of those hands were too large to be a woman's.

Hermione lay there for several long, agonizing minutes during which she flipped and turned over in her head the possibility of having been abducted by some weird psychopath, or worst_ a Death Eater. But before long her mind drifted off and she pictured Harry and Ron having suddenly apparated at Sirius's old house without her, waiting for her to meet up with them, pacing up and down the main corridor. By now they were surely panicking, and before the night had fallen they would be boiling with anger, looking for a way to hunt down whoever had taken her from them. Oh yes, at Hogwarts she already knew them like the back of her hand, and fighting together in the war had only made them all closer. When you're lost in the wilderness with nothing but your two best friends, you stick to those friends like your life depends on it, because in fact, your life pretty much does depend on it.

_Crap!_ She thought for the fifteenth time, _they're going to worry like crazy!_ And at that moment she was quite happy that she'd been more or less turned into a rock because she could feel the tears nibbling at her eyelids and it was definitely not the right time to have a fit of choking sobs. She might as well keep torturing herself by trying to guess who the hell was helping her, and think about how she was going to blindly suffer the consequences of having apparated in the middle of nowhere, alone.

What she didn't expect though was for her limbs to suddenly snap back to life and for her eyes to open wide. The sun blinded her for a second just as the unidentified wizard disapparated with a pop, leaving her lying on the soft ground, her wand a few centimeters from her fingertips and her arm fully bandaged up.

She wanted to swear but she decided that she'd had quite enough of that for one day, thank you very much, and decided to let out a long sigh instead. She hadn't gotten a single explanation for what had happened since she'd crashed into that lake, but she'd watched him disapparated. She'd seen him. Just a glimpse, yes, but she would have recognized those billowing black robes anywhere.

They were Snape's.

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**HI ALL! So the day before yesterday I got my first ever review, and, I'll be honest with you, I nearly cried. Then I decided that I should be on the positive side of stuff, and then I most definetly did not get up and start running around the room singing whatever song I had in my head at the time at the top of my lungs. Okay I obviously fool no one when I say that it did not happen, but to my defense I was INCREDIBLY happy (my god I'm such a child). My father thus disowned me out of fear. Nearly. ;)**

**Anyhow, this chapter doesn't seem very long to me on Word although it seems okay on here, so hopefully you'll all be satisfied (fingers crossed) !**


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione sat up painfully, looked around her and instantly hated herself for losing her nerve. She was in the middle of what seemed like a perfectly harmless and empty forest, if not for the birds chirping from the top of the small trees. She was surrounded by soft green ferns and was sat on a blanket of wet moss. To be honest, she wouldn't have picked a safer or more comftorble spot herself. However, she was in the middle of a war and had never expected to be dropped in an ice-cold lake with nothing more than her wand and a splinched arm, so for this one time she agreed with herself that completely freaking out was forgivable.

She suddenly got up and looked around frantically. Where was her bag? It seemed the reality of her situation still hadn't sunk in yet as she realized that not only did she not have anything to survive on her own, but even worse, Harry and Ron had nothing either. Well at least they were still at Grimmald Place. Kreature wouldn't be happy to help, but he would still oblige if Harry asked him to. At least she had one_ rather two less things to worry about. Still, that meant that her beaded bag was at the bottom of a huge, cold lake with inside all her books, potions, ingredients and, amongst other things, Harry's Invisibility Cloak.

She picked up her wand without being able to shake the horrible sensation in her stomach that something was wrong.

"_Accio_ bag", she said in a worried voice.

She usually would only have had to picture the object, but her mind still felt murky from being knocked out. She waited a whole minute, but nothing happened so she lifted her wand towards what she thought might be the lake she'd fallen in and concentrated harder.

_"Accio_ bag!"

She heard a distant splash and her beaded bag suddenly came flying through the trees. She ducked just in time and it crashed into the bushes behind her. With a sigh, Hermione walked over to it and sat on the ground again. Slowly, she prodded her bandaged arm and winced when she felt the crevasses of her torn skin. She'd been splinched badly, and her savior_ as weird as he seemed_ had obviously and thankfully administered a strong painkilling charm. Merlin knows what pain she would have been in otherwise.

Apparently though, her body could still feel the damage that had been done to it and it decided that right there, right now, the right thing to do was to faint. Hermione collapsed and didn't move until nightfall.

It was a sound of footsteps and broken branches that pulled her from her sleep. For a moment she forgot where she was and why her arm was surging with pain. A groan escaped the barrier of her lips and she froze as the sound of breaking branches stopped. Hermione suddenly became aware of the heavy silent hanging in the air. Not a bird, not an insect was moving. She tightened her grip around her wand and slowly sat up. Through the branches of the thick bushes in front of her, she could see a pair of legs not ten feet away. One foot was still in mid-air as the tracker listened intently, looking for his prey. And his prey was terrified. She'd never come across one of Voldemorts' supporters without Harry or Ron by her side, and with her splinched arm there was no way she could apparate away. She didn't even have it in her to fight back, as she'd injured her wand hand.

The Trackers' foot touched back down again and Hermione stopped breathing. He could hear her, she was sure of it. Hundreds of escape plans suddenly formed in her mind, all more unrealistic than the last. The boots turned sideways to face her hiding place. The man took a step forward, and then another. Slowly, Hermione slipped her beaded bag over her head so that it hung on her side. She then steadied her wand awkwardly in her left hand and changed into a crouching position. The pair of feet in front of her took another step and she closed her eyes in a silent prayer.

The spell shot out of her wand so quickly that all the Death Eater could do was stare stupidly at the bushes as he fell flat on his back, limbs and lips deadlocked by her body-binding charm. Hermione didn't lose a second looking at him. She instantly got up and sprinted in the opposite direction. She had no idea of where she was going and bolted through the trees. She ran up a hill as quickly as possible and looked back as she got to the top. Four trackers were following her. She charged down the other side of the hill as fast as her wounded arm could let her, thrashing through the bushes and trees that were in her way. She had no idea of where she was heading but all she could hear was the pounding of her heart and the screams of the trackers behind her.

A green flash of light exploded against a tree trunk ahead of her and she darted sideways before sending a jinx back at them. It wheezed pathetically as it hit the ground and she heard a cackle of laughter irrupt from behind her. She turned round and screamed an angry "_REDUCTO_" and the laughter stopped as the man was mercilessly ejected out of the forest. Three curses flew back towards her and she ducked desperately, still running.

And then Hermione stopped. She was looking down from a 40-foot high cliff, and there was no way down. She turned around to see a hex fly her way, and then she was thrown off the edge. She didn't even realize she was screaming until she crashed into the trees below and her voice broke.

* * *

He'd come back without anyone realizing his absence and had been sat at his desk since then, trying to organize the mess the Death Eaters had made of the Ministry of Magic's employees register. It was lucky that most of them were as dumb as their feet, or else this war might have been much worst by now. And then he felt it again. For the second time in one day his arm seemed to irrupt into invisible flames and he clutched his wrist in pain.

"By Salazar, can't the woman stay out of trouble for 5 seconds?" He cursed under his breath. "Of course not, she's the blinking Gryffindor Princess."

He pushed his chair back, grabbed his wand and disapparated. The spell in his arm brought him instantly to where he needed to be, but when he appeared in the middle of a forest full of chirping birds and no sign of human life whatsoever, it was all he could do to hold back a string of swear words.

He looked around, confused, and could only tell that the vegetation around him was similar to where he'd previously left the Granger girl. The lake on the other hand, was completely missing. Could she not stay still for one moment?

That was when he heard it: an irruption of loud bangs and crashes. The flames in his arm became unbearable and he pushed the pain away with an angry growl. Ahead of him was a towering vertical cliff, as if a giant had cut the mountain sheer (which was probably quite possible to be honest). He looked up at the top of the cliff just as a black figure burst out of the trees and flew up into the air before disappearing behind the horizon. Red sparks suddenly flew out of the forest covering the mountaintop and he broke into a run.

He ran as fast as his legs could possibly carry him and as he did he waved his wand around himself. He felt the chameleon charm fall into place as he continued to sprint towards the cliff. And that's when he heard it. A scream. He looked up in horror and just had the time to flick his wand up and shout: "_ARRESTO MOMENTUM_", before Hermione Granger crashed into the trees below her. She stopped at a few feet from the ground and then was dropped onto a safe piece of dirt just as he ran into sight.

Hermione had never been as happy to witness magic in her whole life. However, when she noticed the outline of a wizard running towards her she suddenly became much more aware of her difficulty to produce any kind of good spell with her left arm.

"_Expelliarmus_!" she said desperately, but the wizard cancelled it out with what sounded like a snigger and strode right up to her. With a whimper, Hermione closed her eyes, expecting to be crusciated at any moment, but the wizard simply tapped her on the head with his wand. The feeling of an egg having been cracked on her head was recognizable, and as the disillusionment Charm covered her body, she said: "Oh." And then remained quite quiet.

The wizard helped her up and then kept hold of her wrist as he tried to put as much distance as possible between them and the cliff. At the top of the rock face, the Death Eaters were staring down into the forest. With no sign of their prey and no way of going down there, they gave up and disapparated.

Hermione and her savior had been walking for at least an hour when she finally uttered a word.

"Professor? Professor Snape?"

The wizard slowed down, and then seemed to realize he was still holding her wrist and let go. Blue marks now circled the place where he had held her, but she had other things on her mind.

"You're Professor Snape, right?"

The person who was apparently her old potions master said nothing and started walking again. Taking this as a positive answer, Hermione sighed and followed.

"You know," she continued, "we always doubted your allegiance to the Order, you always seemed so cold and hateful, then again I do suppose you hate us, or at least Harry, anyone could see that. Then again I guess you were just playing your part, and you fooled us all. But then again, you killed Dumbledore! Why would you ever save me?!"

She walked straight into Snape's back as he stopped and turned to face her. She could only guess the silencing frown he'd put on before he started walking away again. Hermione followed closely out of fear of losing him because of the Disillusionment Charm, but it wasn't long until she started talking again:

"I lost Harry and Ron when we left the Ministry. Of course, you probably know about most of that anyway, being so close to Dumbledore and all. I can't disapparate with my arm like this though, so could you possibly find Harry and Ron and tell them I'm okay? They should be at 13 Grimmald Place right now, probably worried out of their minds. If you could just do that it would really…"

She'd said all of this very quickly and walked straight into Snape as he came to a halt. She gave him a smile to say sorry and he walked off again. Hermione however, did not follow. A thought had just stuck her.

"Hang on a minute, how did _you_ find me?"

Snape stopped walking. He turned around, stood there for a second, and then strode right up to her. Leaning in silently, he whispered in a cold and sluggish voice: "You don't need to know."

Hermione didn't say anything after that. Although confused by the fact that Snape's voice had seemed so different as usual in a whisper, it was the curiosity that kept her mind going and her mouth closed. They walked for another two hours during which all she could do was stare at what she guessed to be his back in hatred, and try to keep her balance with her injured arm hanging limply at her side.

Near nightfall, Snape suddenly stopped next to a boulder that had crashed down the mountainside years ago and set himself the task of gathering firewood. When he came back with an armful of branches, he was most surprised to see that the Granger girl had set up a tent and was calmly waiting whilst opening a can of Muggle food. He threw the wood on the ground and magically lit it before turning his back and disapparating.

Once again, Hermione was left alone in the forest.

* * *

**WOW to those few who are following my story (I love you guys!) sorry for uploading the next episode so late, and I could tell you that I came back to France, had to deal with depression and the lack of internet but those would be pathetic excuses as I simply was being lazy and convinced that I was missing too many details from the books and that my fanfic was therefor worthless.**

**HOWEVER, passion will prevail! So here's the next part, hope you like it! *crosses fingers***


	4. Chapter 4

When Hermione woke up the sun was already high in the sky. The burning pain in her arm made her whimper before she took out her Muggle painkillers and swallowed them without water. Wizards could say all they wanted, but Muggle medication came in pretty handy when you couldn't be sure of what might happen if you tried a spell on yourself. She remembered Lockhart's spell on Harry in their second year at Hogwarts, when he'd turned a broken arm into a boneless one. She shuddered to think of the state she would be in if something went wrong, here in the middle of nowhere with no Madam Pomfrey or her special remedies around.

When the pain started to fade, Hermione pulled out her essence of Dittany and slowly undid her bandage. The sight of torn arm made her want to faint. The flesh was still twisted and ripped in several places, and it was all she could do not to scream in pain. The small drops of dittany helped her arm grow its missing skin cells back in a matter of seconds, and soon she was easing the bandage back on again. 'What would she have given for a bit of Snape's dittany/pain-killing massaging oil right now' she thought bitterly.

After having helped her the day before he'd just vanished. Of course, she couldn't expect him to hang around all day. Taking care of her when he had such a huge mission going on was unrealistic; his cover could be blown at any second, but still. She wouldn't have minded the company. Even if it was Snape.

She got up, ate whatever she could find in her cave of a bag, then packed up and started moving again. The Death Eaters could come back any second and she didn't want to be there when they did.

By nightfall she'd walked out of the forest and through three valleys hiding small lakes. Hermione set up the tent in a small cluster of trees near the last lake so as to be hidden, and then sat by the water. There was still no sign of Snape, and it didn't seem as if he would be coming back any time soon. She fell asleep later on after having successfully managed to put up spells around her campsite that should keep her safe.

However, in the middle of the night, she was woken by something quite unexpected. Her eyelids fluttered open as light flooded her tent. She checked her Muggle watch. It was 3:25AM. That's when she turned to see a blue ball of light floating in mid-air.

Hermione sat up slowly, and a deep, unrecognizable voice irrupted from the patronus.

"_They are coming_" it said. "_They have followed you and are coming, I cannot help at this time. Go North. Find the King's House Inn._"

And then the voice faded. As it did, the patronus charm disappeared into the air, like a wisp of smoke. There was no time to think about it. She packed her stuff and left immediately, compass in hand. Once again, she congratulated herself for bringing such an amazing amount of cluster with her. How many times had her beaded bag helped her already? Then she set off.

She kept her wand by her side but didn't dare light the path ahead of her. If she attempted to use _Lumos_ she might as well build a fire beacon on top of her head. In the darkness, she stumbled north, following her compass at best, tripping more often than not, not even knowing why she was heading towards an Inn she'd never heard of. She had trusted Snape so quickly that even she was bewildered by her own naivety. She'd always been the one questioning everything first, holding Harry and Ron back. When Harry had got the Firebolt she'd been the only one to think it was a trap, and now here she was, stumbling across the Scottish wilderness with only the faint hope that one of their oldest enemies was helping her. That, and a patronus charm could only be conjured by a wizard with no evil in him. It was all the hope she had, so she kept on going.

By the time the mountains started to shine slightly under the mist and rising sun, her hands were covered in mud, so were her shoes and her knees, and her right arm was in agony again. She reached a small lake where she leant down to drink and take some more painkillers. She checked her compass to be sure she was still heading north. That was when she heard it. The sound of flying broomsticks. She looked around but there was absolutely nowhere to hide, so she slipped into the water, gripping her teeth as the ice-cold liquid covered her body. She had just the time to perform the best bubblehead charm she could conjure and ducked. A second later she saw a shadow fly past over her head. As she looked upwards, a second figure glided through the air and stopped a few feet above the lake surface. Petrified, Hermione did her best to sink deeper without troubling the water, but every movement she made seemed to make the whole lake ripple. The figure above her head however, seemed to have forgotten that humans could swim, and gestured towards the distance. The other came back and they both zoomed off in the direction they had come from.

Hermione stayed underwater for as long as she possibly could, fighting off the cold that was sinking into each and every bone in her body, before the charm just broke and she pierced the surface, gaping for air. Not a broomstick was visible in the sky. Hermione crawled out of the lake, colder than she'd ever been in her life and sprawled herself on the ground. She lay there for a few seconds, trying to warm up in the rising sun. A few rocks tumbled in the distance.

Now positively paranoid, Hermione looked around and got up before running northwards, putting as much distance as possible between her and Voldemort's followers. As she clambered over the crest of the mountain she suddenly stopped. There was no path here, just a terribly steep mountainside and, at the bottom, a huge outstretch of land, closed in by another line of mountains opposite her. Strangely enough, a single tarmac road ran in a straight line between the towering hills, and in the distance stood a very lonely and unexpected building. With a shiver, Hermione wrapped herself as best in her wet clothes and made her way down towards the Inn.

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**I know this isn't a very thrilling chapter, but I just finished a huge chapter and realised it was way too long, so I cut it in the only place that seemed appropriate. Please don't get bored of the story, I'll be publishing the next part in less than 24 hours, and that'll be more action-packed.**

**Also, don't give up on this story yet just because Draco Malfoy hasn't made an appearance, the time will come for that, but that time is not now.**

**I hope you've enjoyed it all the same. Any reviews or PMs with constructive criticism would be really appreciated! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

It took her a whole hour to get to the bottom of the mountain, and by that time she was in a cold stupor. The exhaustion was starting to take over, and as she halted at the end of the slope, she suddenly remembered something that made her want to kick herself in the head. Out of her beaded bag she took Harry's Invisibility Cloak and threw it over her shoulders. Once the hood was thrown over her head, Hermione found that the wind that constantly blew over the steady hills of Scotland was a lot less painful to bear. She let out a rather small sigh of relief.

It was another two hours of walking before she reached the house in the middle of nowhere, during which her paranoia only escalated. She'd already thought of all the traps and tricks that could await her at the Inn, and she kept turning around, certain that she'd heard a sound or seen a shadow. But nothing came swooping down on her.

The _King's House_ Inn was a small, typical Scottish pub with Golden letters sprawled against its chalk-white façade. Small windows let out the warm and welcoming light, and battered wooden tables lay forgotten outside. There was nothing suspicious about the place, and, being exhausted by her few days in the wilderness Hermione didn't even care. She looked around warily before pulling of the cloak and stuffing it in her bag.

She stumbled through the heavy oak door to find a merry group of tourists sitting near a fireplace playing cards. In the corner sat a couple eating what smelt like an amazing dinner, and behind the carved, wooden bar was a burly looking man. He was polishing a glass as she walked up to him and he put it down with a smile.

"Alrigh' Miss? Wha' can I get ya?"

Still shaking from her dip in the lake, Hermione looked up at him without being able to part her lips. His accent, especially, confused her. It sounded like nothing she'd ever heard before.

"Missy," he said with a worried frown, noticing her knotted hair and damp clothes, "Whatever hap'ned to ya? Wait 'ere a sec'." And he ran off, leaving her shivering at the bar. He came back a minute later with a heavy woolen blanket that she thankfully threw over her shoulders.

"Now I think wha' ya need is a good ol' hot chocolate to get ya goin'. Or would ya prefer a Butterbeer?"

Hermione froze and looked up at him. He winked and, slowly, she nodded. He gestured her to follow him, and so she did, leaving behind the cheery warm room. He led her through the kitchens and into what seemed like a rundown attic, before pulling out a wand from his large jumper. Hermione wondered how he kept it hidden there for a second, and then watched him tap the inside wall with it. The stones slid sideways, not unlike the doorway to Diagon Alley, and then he beckoned her forward with a grin. They went through a passageway and emerged in a semi-circular room in which blazed a warm fire.

"The smoke goes up the same chimney as the other room." Said the Innkeeper in his strange accent. "So you don't need to worry about anyone knowing u're 'ere. You-Know-Who's men come over som'times, but they've never even guessed at this place, it's jus' a place for good people like you an' me." He winked warmly at her and she nodded. "I'll bring ya somethin' warm to drink now, you jus' make ya'self comfy." She nodded again and he left with another kind smile.

Feeling strangely safer now that he'd said those simple words, Hermione dragged one of the few very big armchairs near to the chimney and sank deep into it.

A few minutes later, as Hermione was trying to stay awake, someone stepped through the magic door. Expecting it to be the Innkeeper, Hermione looked over the top of her chair, only to see that he had not come alone. Behind him, striding as ever in his billowing black robes was no other than Professor Snape. Their host handed her a steaming cup of hot chocolate and then left, obviously intimidated by the tall man.

"Miss Granger…" Said Snape in his usual drone. "You look terrible, whatever happened to the Golden Trio?"

"I told you about how I lost them the other night Professor." She answered.

"A matter of irony Miss Granger, but I certainly do not remember you having a bath… fully clothed."

He gave her clothes a quick glance, before sitting in an armchair near the fire. That in itself was a shock to Hermione. She didn't think she'd even seen Snape _sit down_ before.

"How did you find me?" she asked him.

He remained silent, although his face seemed to say he had no idea himself.

"You don't need to know Miss Granger. All you need to think about is how you are going to get out of this."

Usually, Hermione Granger would have loved a challenge, but all she wanted at that moment was to sleep until her arm was better.

She thought hard about what to do next, knowing that she couldn't apparate until her arm was healed. If, there and then, she could go wherever she wanted, where would she go? Harry and Ron's faces appeared in her mind and she thought of where they could be. The Burrow had been compromised and burnt to the ground, but no doubt would Ron want to go looking for his family. However Harry probably (and hopefully) knew best and would stay at Grimmald Place until they found something worth going out to look for.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Snape took out his wand and summoned a sleek broomstick.

"You know how to fly I presume?" he said in his arrogant voice.

Hermione took no notice of his tone, but nodded fearfully. She hated flying more than having to put an interesting book into a fire, and if she'd had the choice she would've rather tried to wrestle the Whomping Willow bare handed than ever touch any kind of flying transport again.

"Good, then you should rest here and then when you are ready, fly North-East. Ten miles from here is Hogwarts. There shouldn't be many people there and you should find a way back to wherever you're going. There's a fireplace in the Headmaster's office that isn't watched. If the password hasn't changed, it's _Golden Snitch_."

Hermione looked at him in surprise. That was the longest she'd ever heard Snape talk.

"Why _Golden Snitch_?" She asked nevertheless.

"Another one of Dumbledore's wacky ideas I presume." But despite the usual hateful tone, there was respect in his voice as he pronounced Dumbledore's name.

Hermione took a sip of her hot chocolate, still trying to take in the situation. If a few years ago someone had told her that she'd be sat down having drinks with Professor Snape in the middle of a war against Death Eaters, she would have laughed at them. Oh the war was understandable, but Snape _helping _them?

She was so exhausted and paranoid that she turned to him and asked him if he would stay a little for her to catch a bit of sleep, and to her dismay he agreed with a small nod. She hadn't believed he would one bit when she'd asked him, but when he surprised her yet again, she nearly instantly fell asleep.

Those few hours of slumber were probably what kept her alive when the Death Eaters found them. Had she not, she probably would have fainted from exhaustion as Voldemort's followers blew up the roof of the _King's House_.

As it came crashing down in flames, Hermione woke with a terrified jump a second before Snape threw her off her armchair. She fell to the floor just as the chimney crumbled and smashed into smithereens right where she'd lay a second earlier. She saw Snape disappear under a Disillusionment Charm and throw the broomstick at her before disappearing from sight.

Chaos started to overtake what was left of the Inn as the Muggles staying in tents nearby ran out screaming and tried to get to their cars. But the Death Eaters wouldn't have it that way. Hermione saw a Jeep fly into the air through the open ceiling and threw herself into the no longer secret corridor as the car crashed into the once hidden lounge. It landed with a deafening boom that didn't manage to cover the increasing screams coming from the Muggles outside.

Hermione scrambled to her feet and rushed out of the Inn, broomstick still in hand, and froze as she took in the scene before her. Daylight was still bright as she'd only slept a few hours and gave no place to hide. No less than a dozen Death Eaters were flying around throwing curses at the Muggles beneath them, like a pack of wolves playing with a herd of sheep. From every direction she could here the damages the Crusciatus Curse was making, screams lifting high into the blazing air. And as she looked around, every man seemed to look like her father. Every woman seemed to be her mother. The unfairness of it all made her blaze with rage, and without thinking, she took her wand in her splinched hand and started to Stupefy every moving broomstick.

She ignored the searing pain pulsing through her body as the adrenaline took over and threw a second enemy of his broomstick with an angry spell. Five Death Eaters found her in a split second. Suddenly the only spell she was casting was a continuous sentence of '_Protego'_s, and when the killing curse came from behind her she just had the time to get a glimpse of it before it hit her. But at an inch from her face, it rebounded of an invisible barrier and shot straight back at its producer who crashed to the ground. Then another fell down as it was hit with a spell that seemed to come from nowhere, and Hermione finally noticed the chameleon-charmed wizard that was helping her. Back to back, they took down the three remaining wizards in a matter of seconds, and Hermione turned to see the others soaring over the scattered innocent people trying to run away.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her wrist.

"You can't help them!" said a voice through the crashing sounds around them. "Go, now!"

"No! They need our help!" she screamed back to the disembodied voice.

"You can't, not with an arm like that, I'll stay! Use the Cloak and go! I'll take care of things here. I have your back."

For a split second, Hermione was overwhelmed by dozens of questions, one of which one troubled her the most: could Snape really fight off all those Death Eaters? But there was no time to think. He pulled Harry's Invisibility Cloak out of her bag and threw it over her shoulders before forcing her onto her broom. A sudden wave of pain threw Hermione into confusion and she stopped thinking. All she could think about was to hang on to the broomstick as it flew off into the sky. Behind her, the screams still went off, tearing her heart. Just as she went up and over the mountain, heading north-east, the screams seemed to dim down a little, not because of the distance, but because they seemed to be no longer in pain. She hoped that this wasn't because they were all dying one by one, and she looked ahead, incapable on concentrating on anything else anymore.

Half an hour later, Hermione was still soaring through the sky. She didn't remember flying a broom to be so difficult. Then again, her injured arm was hanging limply by her side, and she had to use every ounce of strength just to keep herself steady.

And suddenly, Hogwarts came into sight. Its tall towers stood as proud as ever in the sun, and the glimmering lake at its feet reflected its solid stone walls. Relief flooded her at the same time as the feeling of being home, and then she landed _ or rather crashed into the trees below. She didn't know if she fell asleep or fainted, but when she woke up it was nearly sunset.

She pulled herself up to a tree and waited for the sky to go dark. Her whole body was in pain. Her splinched arm hadn't had the time to heal yet, and her energy was so low that even getting up seemed a challenge. However when the sun disappeared and the darkness overtook, Hermione got up, mounted her broom as best as she could, and sped off towards the castle.

She'd planned on landing on the astronomy tower, but as she grew closer, she lost control of the broom, spun round in the air and crashed through a window on the fifth floor.

She landed in a shatter of glass with a loud thud. Somewhere along the corridors, someone shouted and there was a ruckus of footsteps. They were running.

That's when Hermione saw him: a shadow, standing behind a classroom door ahead. He swore loudly as he looked left and right, then ran over, picked her up by the armpits and dragged her through the open classroom door.

The footsteps were getting louder and louder, and Hermione was still being dragged to the back of the class. He let go of her and rummaged through her bag. A second later, he'd thrown the Invisibility Cloak over their heads and they stood very still. The footsteps stopped outside their door and they heard hurried voices.

The door burst open. And in desperate need of any security possible, she looked up to see who had dragged her there. A pointed face with angry grey eyes stared back at her with a disgusted look.

It was Draco Malfoy.

* * *

**SO, You all happy now that he's appeared?! Hope you still like the story and keep following it, the best is yet to come! ;)**

**Mischief Managed ~**


	6. Chapter 6

Amycus Carrow walked into the room, followed by his equally deranged twin sister. Slowly, they walked up the aisles of chairs, wands raised. Hermione cringed as Malfoy's hand covered her mouth but could only pull herself closer to him as the Carrows got closer.

Suddenly, a floating figure came rushing through the wall and swept under a line of tables, sending them flying towards the Death Eaters. With a scream of anger, Alecto Carrow pointed her wand at the ghost as he broke into song:

_ Oh you evil little swines_

_You broke into Hoggy Hogwarts, IT'S MINE!_

_I'll make it hell, as you might tell_

'_Cause you're all worst than dragon smell!_

_Peeves'll be horrid, me hates you lot,_

_And if you try to kill me again_

_I'll make your bedrooms rot!_

And he swooped off through the ceiling with a high-pitched cackle as Alecto's curses exploded against the stone wall. It was lucky Malfoy had his hand on Hermione's mouth because despite her situation she'd nearly laughed out loud. Peeves might've been every student's enemy when she went to Hogwarts, but right now she was really grateful to him.

"It's that stupid poltergeist again!" said Alecto as she stamped her foot on the floor. "If I ever find a way of getting rid of him…"

She didn't explain what she would do to Peeves, but her face said it all. Her brother beckoned her from the doorway and they both left the room. Hermione stayed quite still until she was sure they had left, then she suddenly realized who was holding her and pushed Malfoy's hand away in fury.

" .HELL?" she whispered in an outraged voice. "What are you doing here, _stop _touching me, and why the hell didn't you help them?"

"My, my Granger, not very thankful _are_ we?" he answered in a snigger.

She'd forgotten how outrageously annoying he looked when he did that.

"Do you think I even want to touch your filthy Mudblood skin?" he continued

She nearly punched him in the nose.

"_Think_ Granger, wouldn't they have come looking for me if they thought you had an accomplice? Really, I thought you knew how to think. Apparently you only know how to blurt out textbooks."

She'd also apparently forgotten how smug and revolting he was.

"You still haven't told me why you're here," she answered nevertheless, trying to control her anger, "seeing as you didn't want to be found."

He sniggered and looked away.

"As if I'd tell _you_ that."

Considering the conversation of how low and disgusting he thought she was to be over, Hermione got up with difficulty and walked away, holding back the urge to punch him square in the face.

As she got to the door, she threw the Invisibility cloak over her shoulders and glanced back at Malfoy. He was staring at the place she was standing a second ago with an unreadable look on his face, unable to see her. Then she slipped through the doorway. Immediately she knew where to go. After six years of scurrying round the castle with Harry and Ron, she'd come to know that there were only two places she would be safe in. One of them was the Gryffindor Tower, but even that could have been broken into by the Death Eaters guarding Hogwarts by now.

As she walked through the corridors her heart ached for her two best friends. She'd not even been able to sort out her feelings for Ron before they'd been separated, and she longed to see him. She missed his laughter, his jokes, and even the way he'd complain about homework. What she missed most though was that look he gave her. It was a look that made her feel safe and that said: "we'll be with you no matter what happens". And somehow, being back in Hogwarts it felt like they were indeed walking by her side.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she arrived in front of a long bare wall. She needed to hide; she needed a place to rest without being found. And that's exactly what the Room of Requirement gave her. The door carved itself into the previously normal-looking wall, and she opened it to slip inside. The Room of Hidden Things was as majestic as always. It seemed to go on for miles; miles of stacked up furniture, chessboards, cages, books and objects that thousands of students had left there since the creation of the castle. Hermione being who she was, didn't much approve of having such a room kept so untidy in a school, but she had to admit it was coming in handy.

She wandered through the maze for a few minutes, shaking from exhaustion before she finally found a place to sleep. Amidst a pile of chairs and desks was a stuffed armchair, and several blankets were scattered over the whole thing. Best yet were the few mattresses that lay forgotten at the bottom of the pile in a small nest under a large, solid desk. Hermione crawled through the opening of the construction and lay down on the woolen mattresses. Too tired to think much, she simply cast a solidifying spell on the furniture around her to be sure they wouldn't tumble down during her sleep, and then she put her head down. Instantly she was lost in the world of dreams.

* * *

She slept on as the door to the Room of Hidden Things was pushed open silently. Draco Malfoy slipped in, closed it behind him and started walking through the aisles. He disappeared without a sound and nothing more moved until morning.

In fact it was way past morning and lunch as Hermione stirred. She dreamt of Harry and Ron. They were in a dark forest, and they kept whistling to her, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't find them. She woke with a start, but the whistling didn't stop. Someone was in the Room of Requirement with her. The whistling didn't make much sense though. Not many people were heard singing or doing anything of the sort during the war. There wasn't much to be happy about in these dark times.

Hermione froze. The whistling was getting closer. Having slept, her mind felt suddenly much clearer, and she drew out her wand before sitting up, peering through the gaps in her hiding place. A pair of feet walked past.

"Not another step!" she said as she crawled out and stood up. A blond-haired man spun around.

"Draco Malfoy." She said hatefully, surprised at how much loathing came out in her voice. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Me?" he replied in a surprised tone. "What are _you _doing here Granger? Shouldn't you be in the bloody Gryffindor common room? Why would you stay here of all places?"

"I'm not stupid," she answered with a cold laugh, "I know best than to hide somewhere where they could break into."

Draco Malfoy looked like he could have slapped himself on the forehead as he stared at her with a confused look.

"But anyone can waltz into here, you're standing in front of me now aren't you?"

"Shut up you murderer!" she said, again surprised at how much she hated him. He brought out in her a side she did not know of. She stood straighter, and he suddenly noticed the wand that was pointed at him and the anger on the face of the girl who held it. Taking a step backwards he put his hands up as if to calm her.

"Now now Granger, we both know I didn't kill Dumbledore."

"You led his enemies to him, it's the same thing. Now tell me, why are you here and why are you hiding from the Carrow twins."

"That's…"

"_Don't_… say it's none of my business Malfoy." she interrupted, "I'm the one with the wand here."

He glimpsed at it again and sighed.

"I'm looking for something the Carrows wouldn't want me to find, happy?"

"Nowhere even close." She whispered before swinging her arm around her head and shouting "_Stupefy_!".

Malfoy flew backwards and landed on his back with a thud. Rage still flowing through her body, Hermione strode over to him and pointed her wand at his face.

"_Rennervate_." She said in a low voice, and Malfoy's eyes fluttered open.

"Granger…" he groaned as he turned over with a moan.

"You know better than to annoy me Malfoy, I thought I made that clear in our third year."

He made a sound much like a laugh and stood up again.

"Okay Granger, you win. You might want to sit down though, because you're not going to believe me."

He walked over to the old armchair and sat down, but Hermione stayed standing, wand still pointed at him. He looked at her, than smirked before saying:

"What do you know of Horcruxes?"

* * *

**Sooo New chapter! :D Yes.. you might've noticed^^, I'm just really excited by how fast it's going. I hope you've all liked it, review maybe? :)**

**I'm not too happy about how this chapter ended seeing as it sounds quite _cliché _but anyhow no biggy.**

**Hopefully next chapter'll be up soon!**

**xx**


	7. Chapter 7

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." Hermione said as she sat down on the floor. "You mean to tell me that you, Draco Malfoy, Slytherin, former Death Eater and son of a Death Eater, is hunting for horcruxes to destroy the Dark Lord?"

"Yes." Malfoy answered plainly.

"Do you think I'm completely stupid?!" she huffed in an outrage. "I don't know how you found out we were looking for horcruxes, but if you think for one second that I'm going to believe you…"

She stopped talking as a curious expression overcame Malfoy's face. In fact, it looked very much like _surprise_, and it was of the most expressive faces she'd ever seen him pull.

"What's the face for?" she asked quite defensively.

"Wait… _that's_ what you've been doing with Potty and the Weasel?! You've been looking for horcruxes all along?"

It was amazing how Malfoy could still look like he was chewing on a lemon when surprised. Hermione was trying to figure out if he'd changed his allegiance even a little, but his views on 'pureblood' relations had obviously not.

"What else would we have been doing?" she asked as her eyes looked to the ceiling.

"Well, I don't know… Hiding maybe?" he answered with a sarcastic voice.

"Wow Malfoy, I didn't know you cared."

"Like I would," he sniggered, "That's just what everyone assumed. But hunting for horcruxes… well it's just insane with danger."

"Are you saying I can't take danger Malfoy?" she answered coldly as she found herself undermined by him again.

"Well Potty and the Weasel are stupid enough to do it, but I didn't think _you_'d tag along…"

He blinked as Hermione's wand suddenly came very close to his nose.

"Keep talking Malfoy. Go on. Tell me more about how _superior_ you are to all of us. Either that and I make your face look like Goyle's foot, or you tell me exactly how for you've gotten with your little horcrux adventure."

He simply looked up at her as she practically spat out the words, remembering the power of her stunning spell earlier and the effect it would have on his face if she did it again as she stood right in front of him. His mouth tightened. Hermione on the other hand was fighting back a _lot_ of anger. She'd grown impatient of their bickering, and even though she didn't trust him for a second, she needed to get any information possible that could help Harry, Ron and she find the horcruxes. They had run out of ideas as to where to look already and Malfoy might lead them a step forward.

Malfoy at least, seemed to have gotten the picture. He sat quietly until she lowered her wand, and then started talking.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was swearing to himself as he walked through the aisles of the Room of Requirement. Granger had managed to overpower him and make him talk so easily that he felt like the biggest idiot to walk this planet. After Largebottom and the Weasel of course. Those two were so useless that it was laughable no matter how many times you thought about it.

Malfoy appeared for a fleeting moment in a forest with twisted, ancient trees, before apparating back to his manor. The Malfoy Manor, once home to a rich and powerful, ancient family of purebloods, had now become headquarters for Voldemort's army. As Draco strode down the alleyway, he looked up at the massive, perfect walls now protecting the foulest creature he'd come to cross paths with. Lord Voldemort however, had more important things to do than always be at Malfoy Manor, so Malfoy could come in an out of his house without being suspected too much.

As he came through the door, he glanced at a tall and stiff black-haired figure that was looking at him. With a scowl, he retreated to his room and Snape followed. As he closed the door on them, Malfoy looked at him and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Professor, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

Severus Snape threw a piercing look at him and answered:

"Hermione Granger is at Hogwarts."

"I know," said Draco with a matter-of-fact voice, "We bumped into each other as she came crashing through a window. Any ideas how that happened?"

Snape simply glared suspiciously at Draco, then changed subjects.

"What is your next assignment from The Dark Lord?" he said in his slow, cold voice.

"Well I wouldn't say that's any of your business, but as you _did_ own my trust, I guess I could tell you."

Snape smirked but remained silent.

"I'm to find Dolohov. He seems to have disappeared."

At that he could have sworn he heard Snape snicker.

"Well, that should take a long time." Said Severus nevertheless as Draco turned to his desk, looking busy. "Also, you might be interested to know that the Lovegood girl had been caught. She is now downstairs for interrogation."

Malfoy glanced back at his old potion's master. Was he supposed to care about this? Snape simply walked over to him and put a copy of _The Daily Prophet_ on the desk before turning to leave. Then he stopped. Suddenly he grabbed Draco by his collar and, ignoring the look of hatred boring right through his skull, he said in a low hiss:

"Don't think you are better than me at this. I've been here from before you were born and it would do you well to remember that. Try to blackmail me once more and I'll make you disappear, understood?"

Malfoy looked up at him but stayed silent. Taking that his point had been understood; Snape let go, pulled on his sleeves to look proper again and walked to the door. However, he stopped once again and said:

"When are you going to tell her?"

"None of your business." He replied.

So without another word, Snape walked out the door. Draco growled before slumping down in his chair. Well he _had_ been wrong to try and blackmail him, but still; it had been worth it. He glanced at _The Daily Prophet _and sat up as the cover picture caught his eye. Luna Lovegood was smiling up at him in her usual, dreamy way, waving at the cameraman.

EDITOR OF _THE QUIBLER_ ARRESTED FOR PROFANITY AS HIS DAUGHTER IS TAKING INTO CUSTODY FOR

QUESTIONING.

A few lines underneath explained how the Lovegood blondie had been taken by the Wizarding Forces (otherwise known as Death Eaters by everyone else) to be questioned about her complicity with the infamous Harry Potter.

He lent back into his chair as he thought furiously. If the Lovegood girl knew anything about what Potter and his sidekicks had been doing during the summer, the Dark Lord was going to become unstoppable and all his efforts would have been for nothing. There was a knock on the door and Malfoy stared at it angrily. Was there no way to have peace for one second?

He opened up and a messy-haired, dirty-faced Death Eater looked back at him.

"Stan," he said to the man, with a tone that clearly showed how much he was disgusted by him. Didn't the man aver wash his hair? "What can I do for you?"

Stan Shunpike had joined Voldemort's cause a few weeks back. No one had bothered learning his last name. After all, he was a lower ring member.

"It's the Lovegood girl Mr Malfoy, she won't stop talking!"

Malfoy lifted a genuinely surprised eyebrow.

"What?" he said.

"Well she won't stop sayin' rubbish." He said and put his hands up in an eerie way as he said with a dreamy voice: " 'The nargles'll get you' or 'beware the fluffy radish'. We can't make any sense out'f her. Earlier Jugson started torturing her and she told him he had an ugly face. Nothin' else, just that. We can't crack her."

Malfoy held back a snicker as he remembered how weird she was even at school. They had no chance.

"So?"

"Um.. we need veritaresum."

"_Veritaserum_" he corrected in a low growl. "Go ask Snape, he would know best."

"Well no, he just left for somewhere."

The young blond sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Go, I'll bring it down." He said, and he walked out and straight past Stan.

He went down a narrow staircase on his right and made his way to an office that stood in a large corridor. It was filled with cauldrons and a heavy desk stood on one side. The walls were covered in books, some of them locked in chains, and in the corner, left open, was a closet filled up to the ceiling in bottles. He strode over and ran through the vials before pulling out a little blue one. "_This should do it,_" he thought as he pocketed it.

He closed the office and made his way down to the dungeons. _Yes_, the Malfoy Manor had _dungeons_. Being a great wizarding family didn't specifically mean you had to have a great personal history. And the Malfoy family history was definitely a little dodgy.

As he walked down the steps that lead to the dungeons, a long, high-pitched scream reached his ears, sending a chill down his spine. Gritting his teeth, he opened the door and stepped into what had unofficially become the torture room. An array of knives and very pointed objects sat on a shelf on the right hand side, but for the moment Luna Lovegood was screaming as a result from Jugson's Cruciatus.

The moment Draco Malfoy stepped in, Jugson lifted the curse. Glad to see that the Malfoy name still inspired respect and fear, he turned to the Death Eaters' victim as he realized she had started talking again.

"It won't work you know," she said in her dreamy voice. "Rastimions only come out to play with werewolves. You look pretty human to me."

Malfoy crouched down in front of her and she looked straight through him.

"Hi there Loony Lovegood, haven't seen you in a while. Remember me?"

"Hello Draco Malfoy," she said mater-of-factly as she focused on his face. "Haven't seen _you_ in a while. You look good."

"Yes well…" he trailed off as he thought about the whole situation. "Better than you anyway."

As he stared at her hazy gaze he sincerely hoped she wasn't as loony as she seemed. He pulled out the blue vial from his pocket and put it in front of his face for her to see.

"This is _Veritaserum_." He continued. "It's going to make you tell us everything we want to know. Every secret, every thought will be ours, and you won't be able to lie or withhold the truth from us. Do you understand?"

"She doesn't need explain Malfoy" said Jugson from behind him. "Just give it to her already."

"Yeah," added Stan. "She's loony anyways."

But Malfoy ignored them and didn't turn his look away from Luna. For a few seconds she seemed to be staring back at him, and then her gaze became unfocused again and he frowned. There was nothing else left to do but to make her swallow the whole thing. She drank it as though his words had washed over her like air.

Satisfied, Jugson took a step forward and Malfoy went to lean against the wall.

"So," said the Death Eater as he cupped his victims face in a painful grip. "Where is Harry Potter?"

* * *

**SO guys, developments, bit of mystery (if I've done it right^^), thanks for the few critical reviews that helped me change a few details! I'm just reaaally hoping you still like the whole plot development, but if you could drop a review telling me what you think that. would. be. _awesome!_ :D (I'm struggling to know if you all like it a lot or not or what to change to make it better ^^")**

**Anyways, In comes Luna! (off to write so more now :) )**

**xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**So I left on holidays and all that nonsense and had to develop the plot urgently so it took this long to update. Sorry about that. Don't forget to REVIEW please! :)**

* * *

The sound of a mating whale rang out through the Room of Requirement. Hermione looked down at her stomach with a whimper. She was so hungry it was painful. When was the last time she'd eaten? She got back up, pushed her conversation with Malfoy to the back of her brain and threw Harry's Invisibility cloak over her head. Now that the adrenaline of running for her life had died out her body was starting to complain. Loudly. She desperately needed food.

She tiptoed down the Hogwarts corridors, wand at the ready, jumping at any sound and every breath of wind. It was as she went round a corner that she heard them. Voices. She skidded to a halt and held her breath as Amycus Carrow and another Death Eater holding a scroll of paper came into sight. They were barely 40 feet away. Hermione looked around, but this was one of those few corridors with no paintings and no hidden passageways. They would know if she ran. She moved to stand against the cold stone wall and anxiously watched as they walked closer.

"… not be taken lightly." Amycus Carrow was talking in a low voice. "Lucius Malfoy lost it the first time, this could be a second chance. The Dark Lord will reward us for this."

"But she's crazy, demented I'd say." replied the other man. "How can we trust those words?"

"Just do it Carvac. I won't say it again."

They walked past Hermione as she held her breath and were just about to disappear round a corner when her whole body seemed to want to remind her that, _it was hungry_ for crying out loud. They paused, looked back, then carried on in hushed voices. Unable to take it for a second longer, Hermione ran down the corridor, through different passages, down flights of stairs and finally emerged in a long, thin corridor. She walked up to a painting and tickled a pear sitting in the center of it. The portrait swung open.

She'd not even thought about whether or not there would be any food seeing as term hadn't started yet, but as soon as she walked through the opening and took the cloak off, a storm of house elves ran up to her in curiosity. Amongst them, a little shy elf pushed her way to the front.

"Winky!" said Hermione in a happy voice as the elf twisted her cloth in her hands. "You still work here."

"Yes Miss. You shouldn't be here Miss, it's not safe."

"I know" she replied with a sigh. "I didn't mean to end up here. If I told you what had happened you wouldn't believe…"

Winky had stopped listening though. Her eyes had turned to the size of two tennis balls as she stared at Hermione's bandaged arm.

"You're hurt miss." She squeaked in an incredibly high pitched voice.

"It's nothing to worry about," she lied. "I would love some food though if you have any."

The elf nodded vigorously before running off, leaving the other house elves to pull her into a chair whilst all asking at the same time if there was anything else she wanted. Winky thankfully returned with a tray carrying some warm stew. Hermione took it and forgot where she was whilst she gulped down the food. She ate until her stomach couldn't take it anymore, as the plate kept refilling itself. When she leant back into her chair with a sigh of contempt, Winky came back towards her and asked if there was anything else she wanted. Hermione asked if they had any paper and a quill, making the house elves run away happily to get them for her. She left with a last wave of her hand and the elves all scurried off again. As she was leaning through the door again, she turned to Winky and asked:

"Tell me Winky, do you know anything about what the men in the Castle are up to?"

Winky shook her head from side to side with a terrified look as her ears flapped against her face.

"None Miss, but we do not like them. And the Lady in the Tower doesn't either."

"What Lady in the tower?" said Hermione, pressing her on.

"The one who sees things that have not happened yet." She answered in a terrified whisper. She kept glancing over her shoulder. "She came down a few days ago to tell us that Benny should hide, and then the men in the Castle came to take him away. We haven't seen him since."

"But why do you think she is scared of them?" Winky was now positively wringing out her shirt now, her wide eyes staring around in fear.

"She kept looking behind her Miss. And she was crying. Winky can say no more Miss. Winky doesn't want to end up like Benny Miss."

And she ran away and disappeared into the long kitchens. With a worried look on her face, Hermione through the Cloak back on and made her way back up the Castle. She'd figured out that "the Lady in the tower" was Sybill Trelawney, her old Divinations teacher. Hermione ran up a flight of stairs going up a tower as she tried to recall what Amycus Carrow ( and what was his name… Carrel? Carvac!) had said. "_She's demented!... How can she trust a word she says?_" On that point, Hermione agreed. But if the Death Eaters were going to listen to Trelawney, she needed to know what she'd told them.

Hermione emerged into the owelry and the pulled the cloak off. The birds screeched in surprise but she ignored them. Pulling out the quill and paper, Hermione wrote:

_Dear both,_

_You must be worried by now, and I'm sorry I didn't answer sooner. I'm safe. I'm at the place where the Half-B. P. is hidden. A ferret is lurking but I can handle that. Stay safe._

_PS: Don't answer this, it's not wise._

She then walked over to a small, black owl and strapped the letter to its leg. With a flick of her wand she put the image of 12 Grimmald Place in its head and sent it through the window.

The owl travelled fast towards London and arrived in the early morning. It swooped down towards the house and started turning in circles above the roof. A gasp of air suddenly pulled it downwards and the letter slipped through its claws and down through the crack between two houses. The small black owl flew away in fright.

The letter fell straight into the Black family's house and landed on a very bald, very strange head. With a squeak of pain, Dobby looked down in surprise and picked up the letter. As he read it his eyes widened in horror as he understood who had sent it, although not from where. "Must warn Harry Potter!" he squeaked. He tucked the letter into his shirt and disapparated.

This wasn't going to be easy. Harry Potter and his friend had gone looking for her three days ago. And they hadn't come back since.

* * *

After having sent the owl off, Hermione pulled the Invisibility Cloak back on and made her way to the North Tower. Her luck was still there, as she walked through the castle without meeting a soul. She climbed the seven staircases and pushed the door to Sybill Trelawney's classroom.

The place still smelt of essence and tea, although a lot less of the later than in her memory. The Death Eaters had obviously not bothered to touch the place, and the same silly atmosphere hung in the air. Sat on a chair in the middle of the room, staring into a crystal ball was a very tired-looking but concentrated woman with hair like a birds nest. She was muttering words under her breath, and as Hermione drew closer, she noticed her old teacher's hands trembling against the crystal. The trembling got worst, and as Professor Trelawney closed her eyes, her whole body started to shake. And then a dark, low voice came from the woman's throat.

"_He is coming_." It said. "_The one who will bring the Chosen One to the Dark Lord is coming and he will bring him to his death. He is coming from the darkness, and all will fear him. In the Night, the voices will whisper the name of the Moonstone Wolf._"

Professor Trelawney's eyes snapped open and she stared at Hermione.

"Who's there?!" she shouted in her normal voice. Hermione's eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm warning you, I can guess who you are just with this crystal ball."

At these words, Hermione had to fight back a snort of laughter. Sybill started to wave her hands above the crystal ball with a dramatic face.

"You were in Mr Potter's class the year I predicted the Grimm was coming for him! …. Let's see … And you hated Divination! Strange, I don't remember anyone like that…"

Hermione ran away without another glance. She couldn't bring herself to think that Trelawney was crazy, but how could she believe her prediction about 'The One Who Will Kill The Chosen One', (if that was an appropriate way to call him)? Yet Trelawney had sounded very logical when she'd guessed she was in the room, and the description fit, no lying there. Plus, she _had_ been right during Hermione's third year, as Sirius had taken the animagus form of the Grimm, it was a normal mistake. But some wolf who was going to kill Harry?

As she walked back towards the Room of Requirement, Hermione put it all at the back of her mind and forgot about it. However, as she snuck back into the Room of Requirement, another problem was waiting.

Draco Malfoy lunged at her, pulled the Cloak of her and pushed her against the door. With a groan, Hermione looked down at the wand that was pointed straight at her throat.

"Where the _hell_ did you go?" he whispered in an angry voice.

"That's none of your business." she croaked back.

"Tell me!" he shouted and Hermione fought to talk properly.

"I… I thought you were on our side anyway, guess I was wrong… _again_."

"I never said I was on _your_ side" Malfoy hissed, "Just because I'm destroying Horcruxes, doesn't mean I'm trying to help you."

There was no way of understanding this. Hermione just looked at him as she tried to breath and he let her go with a sigh.

"It just turns out that we're currently working towards the same goal, nothing more." He said in a low voice. Then he turned to Hermione and stretched out his hand. "Let's call for a truce. We both want those horcruxes destroyed, might as well work together."

Hermione shook his hand whilst still trying to grasp what had just happened, and then Malfoy walked past her and out the door.

Hermione turned around in disbelief, and then realized he'd taken the Cloak.

* * *

**I realize this isn't very exciting yet, but if you have the courage, it is coming soon :) In ANY CASE, whether you like it or not, PLEASE REVIEW!**

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	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the wait! Moved back to Uni and life has been crazy. Hope you like this chapter! :)**

* * *

Hermione still couldn't make sense of what Malfoy had said when she woke up the following morning. He'd made it clear that he didn't want to help them, but for some reason he was destroying horcruxes. The whole thing was a paradox! But Hermione had decided to just accept his help and start looking for the next horcrux. Malfoy did not have her trust though. Hell no, she would keep her eyes on him night and day.

However, Malfoy was nowhere to be seen until midday when he suddenly appeared behind and made her jump.

"Merlin's beard Malfoy!" she shouted as she caught her breath. "Where the hell did you come from?"

He shrugged and sat down.

"I've figured out that there's a horcrux in Hogwarts, but I have no idea of what it could be. Any ideas?"

"How did you figure that out?" she answered.

"It wasn't difficult, as soon as the Dark Lord found out that his minions had lost track of a fugitive in the area he went berserk and sent some more Death Eaters to guard the castle. I suppose it was you they were chasing?"

"Maybe." Hermione said as she stared at Draco with a suspicious frown. "Why were you here when I arrived if you didn't know there was a horcrux here yet?"

"None of your business."

And that was left at that. Hermione started counting the horcruxes that she knew of.

"Well he used the diary first, the one that controlled Ginny during second year."

"That much was obvious" Malfoy spat, and Hermione continued whilst glaring at him.

"Then there was the ring."

"What ring?"

"Marvolo Gaunt's ring. Dumbledore destroyed during the summer of our fourth year. We've also found Salazar Slytherin's locket, Harry should have it." Her voice died as she thought of her two friends and a horrible ball of fear grew in her stomach.

"So what's alike in all of these objects?" asked Malfoy, unaware of her worries. "The Dark Lord can be weirdly womanly, there must be a similarity. Like he wanted it all to be incorporated into a pattern."

"Womanly?"

"Yeah, you should see how he pets his snake, it's gross."

"But a pattern?"

"He likes things to be… finished. You know, all loose ends disappear and all must fall into line."

"Oh," she cringed before going back to her counting of the horcruxes. "Well the ring was a family heirloom so it had importance to him, and the diary was very personal as well."

"So we're looking for a personal object?" Malfoy furrowed his brow in thought. "That could be anything!"

"Not necessarily," she answered as she finally sat down besides him. "They're also both powerful. The diary was a piece of his history, and therefor it could contain a piece of his soul intact for a very long time. Same for the ring; it was an incredibly old artifact with natural powers."

"So we're looking for something powerful with a lot of history?"

"Most likely," she answered. "Preferably something he thought would be important enough to hold his soul. Something old and powerful, if only by meaning."

"But what could possibly be important to him in Hogwarts?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Malfoy jumped up with a cry of victory.

"What?!" Hermione all but nearly screamed at him in surprise. "Can't you talk like a normal person?!"

"Salazar's locket!" he said as he ignored her. "It was powerful, had a long history and the Dark Lord would want a pattern right? What about if he'd used one of every house's creators objects as horcruxes?"

"Of course…" Hermione whispered under her breath. Then she stood up abruptly and said: "I need to go to the library!"

What followed was something Hermione did absolutely not expect. Malfoy exploded with laughter and Hermione stared at him as he doubled up with hilarity.

"Of course Granger," he said difficultly as he tried to control himself. "When there's a problem, head to the library!"

He laughed harder before Hermione walked up to him and, hands on her hips, stated:

"You won't be laughing for much longer; you're coming with me."

Malfoy seemed to sober up and glared at her, although the tear of laughter still rolling down his cheek made his anger a lot less convincing.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because," she answered in a McGonagall's sound-alike voice, "although I hate to admit it, we work better together and we both need to destroy those horcruxes. And going to the library will help."

Malfoy lip twitched as he held back a second fit of laughter, and Hermione added to herself: "_And because I don't want to let you out of my sight_."

* * *

Gulping in disgust, Hermione made her way towards the library with Malfoy hidden besides her under the Cloak. They waited for ten whole minutes for Peeves to stop rampaging half way through the third floor before running as Death Eaters rushed towards the ruckus.

They got to the big oak doors of the old archives room unseen and stepped into the dusty, silent halls of knowledge. They sat at a table hidden behind stacks of books for several hours, skimming through heavy books containing records upon records of old artifacts. Hermione kept glancing up at Malfoy, and what she saw amazed her. Gone was the smirk and disgust on his face. He was calm and concentrated as he went through books and books all more boring than the last. His concentration didn't falter, and the only tension on his face was an intense frown.

Hermione looked back down at her book and slammed it shut angrily.

"Urgh, we're getting nowhere!"

With a sigh, Malfoy copied her.

"What would you have us do Granger?" he drawled.

"Well there must be some other way…" she said as she got up.

"Hermione Granger gives up on books," he said with an amused smile. "The world is ending today… What?"

He was looking up at Hermione as she stared at him in disbelief.

"You said my name."

"So?" he answered defensively.

"Nothing..."

"Yeah whatever. There's been something on my mind for a while though."

"What?" she asked, trying to forget the smile on his face that had replaced his usual smirk.

It was so _weird_ to see him display anything other than hatred on that sour façade. For so many years she'd actually believed that the disgust he showed was his natural look and that he couldn't actually feel any other emotions. Apparently she was wrong; he'd only hated Harry, Ron and her so much to show them only that face. Brilliant. She was hunting down some of the most dangerous objects known to Wizardkind with someone who only knew how to openly despise her.

"Well," continued Malfoy, unaware of her inner turmoil, "What or who could have been present that long ago that could give us first-hand information?"

"_Who_? Well… no one, except if you're thinking of an animated object but there would be no such thin… Oh."

Malfoy smirked at her in recognition and Hermione shook her head in amazement.

"Two brains are definitely better that one."

"I agree. So where are we headed off to?" he said as he stood up too.

With a snicker, Hermione threw the Cloak over her shoulders.

"Let's go find ourselves a Sorting Hat."

* * *

Harry and Ron had apparated back at 12 Grimmald Place safely as they escaped the Ministry of Magic. For 3 days they stayed still; waiting, pacing up and down the corridors, reading the newspapers that Kreature brought back over and over again. After three days of utter torture, they'd left the safe haven and apparated in a cave Hermione had brought them to weeks earlier. They'd searched wide and far before admitting she wasn't there, then they'd changed location and started all over again. They'd searched every place they could think of before finally collapsing under a small stone bridge built in the middle of a field.

That's when Ron had taken out the book Hermione had left behind. _Tales of Beadle the Bard. _And that's when Harry had noticed the small triangular symbol scribbled on one of the yellow pages.

With a strange sensation of being back in their second year as they followed the clues left behind by their best friend, Harry and Ron set off towards Xenophilius Lovegood's house.

* * *

Luna Lovegood was sat on the floor of a dirty cellar, tied up to a tall metal post. A rat scurried by and she smiled through the bloodstains on her face. She'd always been laughed at for being strange and uncaring. But she didn't mind. In fact, right now she was quite thankful for being strange. For it was time.

As she leant her head back against the post she was tied to, she let herself sink deep into happy memories. Now you have to understand one thing about Luna Lovegood: Luna had just been beaten to an inch of death and the pain was surely yet to continue. Another in her place would have surely cracked and despaired by now. But not Luna. Oh no. Luna simply tilted her head backwards and thought very hard of her friends and father.

A wisp of blue escaped her breath. It floated in mid-air until another joined it, and then one more. It took thirty minutes for the wisps of blue smoke to form a shape, and as the half-hour ended, Luna opened her eyes. Oh how she loved being special! It was so much fun, and yet she still had a place in the world, a place made by friends as they'd accepted her and trained with her. She was never alone. And that was why they could win the war.

They would not be defeated so easily. Not as long as even one of them lived on with those memories.

A blue rabbit emerged from the smoke and she whispered these few words in its ear:

"_Expected Patronum_."

Oh yes, she'd been laughed at for being strange, but her differences made her stronger, and her memories even more. As her rabbit bounced off through a wall she closed her eyes and remembered how she'd come up with the spell. She fell asleep, all her surroundings lost again in the deep, confusing mist of her brilliant mind.

Somewhere in a forest, a small blue rabbit disappeared into a bush.

* * *

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